Sussex snubbed for 2015 Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain passes through Horsham in 2014. Photo by Steve Cobb SUS-140913-124409001

Published:11:34Friday 20 March 2015

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The Tour of Britain will not be returning to Sussex in 2015, organisers of the cycle race have confirmed this week.

Last year, spectators lined the streets of Horsham, Eastbourne, Haywards Heath, Lewes, Eastbourne, Newhaven and Uckfield in their thousands to watch the race.

However, despite the success of the event in Sussex, organisers have announced the tour will not return this year, with the final stage in London the closest for local cycling enthusiasts.

Towns and villages across Sussex welcomed the penultimate stage of the race with open arms on Saturday September 13.

Mick Bennett, race director, said: “Overall we are absolutely delighted with the course for the 2015 Friends Life Tour of Britain and believe it offers something for everybody across eight very different stages.

“Our hope and intention is to again encourage eight days of aggressive, uninhibited racing, the sort of action that we hope is becoming the trademark of the race.

“We want our national Tour to reflect the tough terrain which is part and parcel of our cycling scene in the UK, and to showcase both the race and the British countryside to spectators at the roadside and to the television audience both at home and around the world.”

The 2015 tour will include eight stages in parts of Scotland and Wales alongside the north of England, the midlands and East Anglia.